Running Shoe BARGAINS

You all know how important running shoes are.  Well any athletic shoe really.  So head on over to Reebok.com for their 30% Off Friends & Family Sale*! Use code FRIENDS to save with this perfect opportunity to get a jump start on our holiday shopping with one of the biggest sales Reebok.com will run in 2013. There are a ton of great deals to be found for men, women and kids, and for the best deals browse the Reebok Sale collection for 30% off already reduced items! The sale has some exclusions like Reebok CrossFit gear and custom shoes, but most of what you’ll find on the site is included. Don’t miss this great chance to save on awesome workout footwear and apparel from Reebok!

What are you Thankful for this season?

As the Bugaboo's parade around the house with their new chorus lines of Thanksgiving songs for their fall preschool program I am pricked into thinking about gratefulness.
I have to admit that it has not come easily this season.  The obvious jumps into mind; healthy, growing and happy children.  But to find something that I am thankful for about myself has taken some digging. I'm currently in a running slump; nothing thankful there, I have more gray hairs; again not too thankful, there are only 24 hours in a day; thanks or not.......on and on.  But yesterday during my yoga practice the Yogi reminded us to be thankful for what our bodies can do today at this moment.  That hit home for me.  While I might not be hitting everything on my wish list, I am truly fortunate for what my body CAN do.
So tell me, what are you Thankful for this season?

The Marathon Day......

......that was not meant to be.

Today is the day of the Frankenthon marathon that I thought I'd be running this year.  I even planned my eldest daughters birthday party around the race. (She'll be celebrating tomorrow instead of today).  But about 5 weeks ago my training fell apart.  My body and mind revolted at the idea of long distance runs and I threw in the towel.  Today, I am extremely disappointed.  The weather is perfect for 4 hours of running and I am insanely jealous of the people who are out on the trail today.  Instead, I'm sitting in my kitchen staring at un-carved pumpkins, drinking coffee and writing this post.  Boo-hoo.  Ok, that's enough self-pity.  I am a runner and as runners know, we do not give up.  Just because I life piled up too many negatives for this race doesn't mean I won't be lacing up and running 26 at some point.  I haven't looked at the race schedules for my area lately because the family has been in a "transitional" period.  We are waiting to find out if we will be moving out of state or not.  Since I don't know where we might be in 6 months it's hard to choose a particular future race.  But I will still be entering races as they pop up.  In fact, we will be spending Thanksgiving in Little Rock, AK, this year and (although the Hubs doesn't know it yet) I'm hoping to do a turkey trot while we are there.  

Anyone else doing a Turkey Trot this year?

So much fun!

I finished one of my funnest races ever on Sunday, the Cedar Park 5 Miler.  First of al,l I have to say that I am disappointed with how I finished (4th in my age group) but the 3 ladies ahead of me were just faster than I was(my competitive side has a hard time admitting this).  My overall time of 40:45 was respectable and my overall fitness felt great. Following the race I had several people (mostly men) tell me how great my stride/pace were and that they tried to keep up but eventually had to just let me go.......compliments are always appreciated.  Even though I've been nursing some pain in my right inner shin it seemed to flee while I was running and I think I had a grin on my face the entire time.  The weather was beyond perfect and the company around me was GREAT.  The event was sponsored by our local YMCA where I coach gymnastics part time.  This meant that I knew a lot of the people participating and it was really fun to wave at one another as we passed.  I even teamed up with a few ladies who, like me, are Body Combat enthusiasts and we wore matching tshirts.  We didn't run together but it was fun to watch for one another on the course and to team up for a group photo.  I'm not one for running with teams but if you're gonna do it, this is definitely the way to go.  I felt stupidly giddy during the race waving at the policemen who were manning the intersection but they seemed to appreciate my excitement.  Unfortunately, we don't have any photos of this fun run.   My husband was in charge of the 3 bugaboos while I was running and asking him to also keep track of a camera and shoot some candids was just too much :-) 

I'm buried in there somewhere!

So this is how running is supposed to be.  Since I let my marathon training and plans fail a few weeks ago I've had sort of a disgust with running.  I've enjoyed the few miles I've logged but it's taken me a lot more coaxing to get out the door for a run that it used to.  I don't have any long races in sight at this point but with the cooler weather here I still plan to get in some nice jogs and enjoy the sport.  

How was your weekend?

Coconut Oil

I'm sure you've all heard of coconut oil by now.  It's become very popular and mainstream.  I fell in love with the stuff when I was pregnant with the twins and discovered that it soothed the overstretched skin on my tummy without the sticky, over-scented goop like it's cousin.  I've also been using it more frequently in cooking recipes.  So overall, I'm a fan.
Last week when my hairdresser told me to put al little a coconut oil on my dry scalp I thought "why not?"  But as I started searching for my scalp through my enormous amount of hair I realized there was no way I was going to be able to target just my scalp with the creamy oil.  This meant that the root of my hair got coated in the oil too and I began to worry.  Let me just tell you, I didn't worry enough!  I let the coconut oil set for 4-5 minutes and then headed to the shower to wash it out.  But it didn't wash.  In fact it has now been 4 days and 12 shampoos later (this is usually the number of time I shampoo in a month) and I can still feel the greasy slick of coconut oil in my hair!  I am miserable and so darn mad.  I was trying to combat a little dry scalp and I now have a greasy scalp and very dry ends!  Just a week ago I was loving my hair now, I'm considering baldness! Needless to say, my love affair of coconut oil has ended.